Marketing Manager of West Africa Ceramics Limited (WACL) Shakti Mohanty was spotted at the 2018 Abuja Housing Show. The following exchange ensued between him and Viewpoint Housing Media:
Viewpoint: Why are you at the housing show?
Mohanty: To see a lot of customers. We’ve always launched new products here. It’s one of the biggest platforms in Nigeria to launch new products. This year also, we’ve launched the Royal Engineered Stones.
In ceramics also, we’ve launched the big sizes like 80×80 slabs, 40×80 slabs – products that had not been in existence.
In terms of costing, we have wide variety of prices starting from N1,000 per square meter to N4,000.
So depending on the project, we can select. If the person is going for affordable housing, he can select N1,000 tiles. If the person is going for luxurious, he can select N4,000, N5,000 tiles . We’re…for all, low income, middle and high income.
Viewpoint: How has the response of developers been to your products?
Mohanty: It has been great over the years. Especially, shows like this have helped us to come closer to developers and they’re appreciating more and more our products.
And they’ve really endorsed us. You can see NIOB [Nigerian Institute of Building] has endorsed us. Now we’re working closely with REDAN [Real Estate Developers Association Of Nigeria] for affordable and mass housing. And we’re working closely with architects.
We’re working on what we call Kobo House. Kobo House means at the minimum cost, how using indigenous materials, we can deliver affordable houses for the masses with all indigenous materials.
Our tiles and marbles are 100 percent made in Nigeria. Even our raw materials, we mine 98 percent in Nigeria.
Viewpoint: Lastly, what should guests at the show expect from West Africa Ceramics Limited?
Mohanty: They should expect more of engineered stones. The Honourable Minister of State for Housing [Suleiman Hassan] did inaugurate the royal engineered stones and launched them into the Nigerian market.
In ceramics, they will see quality products, bigger size slabs. We’re here not only to satisfy demand, but also to entertain them. They should come and see our goods and have some cocktail with us.